10 Must-Stop Restaurants for Your Northern Michigan Road Trip

These 10 Northern Michigan restaurants, from Munising to Glen Arbor and beyond, are worth a stop on your next Northern Michigan road trip.

This article first appeared in Traverse Northern Michigan. Find this story and more when you explore our magazine library. Want Traverse delivered to your door or inbox monthly? View our print subscription and digital subscription options.

1911 Restaurant at Terrace Inn

1549 Glendale Ave, Petoskey | 1911 Restaurant Website

Sleep in a vintage inn themed after the likes of Ernest Hemingway who wrote and imbibed inside this Petoskey hotel located in the beautiful Bay View neighborhood. Then sample the locally-focused cuisine. Look for ramps and fiddleheads in spring fare and handmade fettuccine topped with (local) Gypsy Vodka sauce.

Rock’s Landing

1577 Crystal Dr., Frankfort | Rock’s Landing Website

Generations of Chimney Corners guests know this nearby Frankfort restaurant for its views that make you feel as if you’re atop Crystal Lake. Bonus, it’s an easy stroll across the street. Book a room, or not; meals like seared sea scallops and lemon ricotta gnocchi are now available to the public—as is that fabulous view.

The Argonne House

11929 Boyne City Rd., Charlevoix | Argonne House Website

The Argonne has been serving their shrimp dinners since 1948 and they are still as good as ever. Eat your fill, then stay at Charlevoix’s Hotel Earl. Recent renovations play on architect Earl Young’s love of natural materials, like rock and live-edge wood, and vintage touches are sprinkled throughout.

Gates Au Sable Lodge

471 S. Stephan Bridge Rd., Grayling | Gates Lodge Website

Trout-fishing enthusiasts have long made their way to this Grayling Eden on the Au Sable’s holy waters. Book a simple room with extraordinary views and take up fishing—or just eat. Think fresh-caught, bacon-wrapped trout (Trout Hemingway), smoky trout chowder, scratch-made hash and eggs.

Little Traverse Inn

149 E Harbor Hwy, Maple City | Little Traverse Inn Website

Lawn lights twinkle, jazz singers croon from inside and menus feature British Isles pub classics and Indian specialties at this country inn north of Glen Arbor. Beds are just upstairs, where rooms offer Little Traverse Lake views and elegance befitting suite names such as Windsor and Camelot.

Read Next: Dine Lake to Table: 5 Waterfront Restaurants in Northern Michigan

Photo by Jacqueline Southby

Dam Site Inn

6705 Woodland Rd., Pellston | Damn Site Inn Website

Diners in Brutus enjoy the fried chicken dinners served family-style at this local icon open seasonally April through October. The 1950s-era restaurant (pictured above) sports groovy seating designed by Charles Eames and walls of soft Naugahyde once used in Buicks. Stafford’s Crooked River Lodge nearby offers a river view and indoor pool.

Keweenaw Mountain Lodge

14252 US-41, Copper Harbor | Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Website

You’ll get starry-eyed over the ever-changing dining room menu inspired by the slow-food movement. A stay at this historic log beauty resembling a national park lodge also allows for actual star-gazing; it’s an International Dark Sky Park.

The Glenwood

4604 Main St., Onekama | Glenwood Website

Plan a date night for the May seasonal opening of this waterfront spot built circa 1900 for Chicago-area tourists who flocked to Onekama by steamship. Savor blue cheese filet mignon or salmon topped with cucumber dill sauce, then gaze at Portage Lake from the wraparound porch at Canfield House, a lumber baron house turned B&B.

Tracey’s at The Roam Inn

815 W. Munising Ave. Unit 1, Munising | Tracey’s Website

Munising is a destination for more than the famed Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, roaring waterfalls and agate hunts. Diners pilgrimage for fresh whitefish, unexpected Asian noodle dishes, rice bowls and house cocktails inside the 18-room boutique hotel/mansion with bay views.

Woods Restaurant

8655 Cudahy Circle, Mackinac Island | Woods Website

Take a horse and carriage down woodsy Mackinac Island paths to this 1905 Bavarian-style lodge restaurant run by Grand Hotel, then savor hearty fare (elk chops, lobster claw mac ‘n’ cheese and more). There’s duckpin bowling on-site and Straits-view rooms at the nearby Sunset Condominiums.

Kim Schneider is a long-time travel writer specializing in Michigan adventures, food and wine. The Midwest Travel Journalist Association has named her Mark Twain Travel Writer of the Year, and she’s the author of “100 Things to Do in Traverse City Before You Die.”

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